While he is clearly a step or two below his
past MVP days, Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia showed in 2016 that
he is not done yet being a solid fantasy baseball contributor. Now an aging 33, Pedroia’s biggest challenge
the last few seasons has been winning the battle against injuries. It is a battle that Pedroia has failed to
conquer at times but last season was an exception as he amassed 698 at-bats (which
was the second-highest total of his career).
That allowed Pedroia to boost back up his counting numbers as he scored
105 runs, hit 15 homers, and collected 74 RBI.
Better yet, Pedroia was back to hitting line drives all over the park as
his .318 average was his highest since batting .326 back in 2008. It was an all-stars-are-aligned season for
Pedroia for sure but don’t lose sight of the fact he remains a major injury
risk given the combination of his 5-9 size and the wear-and-tears of playing
second base. As a reminder of his age
and fragility, Pedroia underwent a scope of his knee upon the end of the season
but he is expected to be 100 percent for spring training. While Pedroia’s days of stealing bases are
pretty much over (just 7 steals in 2016), his hitting rates are still in line
with his career norms which lends credence to his .318 average. As long as you tread carefully here given the
age, Pedroia works nicely as one of the suddenly more affordable
starting-caliber fantasy baseball second baseman in the game.
2017 PROJECTION: .300 14 HR 70 RBI 92 R 8 SB
2017 PROJECTION: .300 14 HR 70 RBI 92 R 8 SB
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